The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus which includes an inlet connected to a power cable.
An image forming apparatus, such as a printer and a multifunctional peripheral, is applied with power via an inlet to and from which an AC power cable is inserted and removed. The inlet is attached to an attachment member made of a sheet metal and the attachment member is attached to a side plate of the image forming apparatus in order to prevent the inlet from being damaged or dropping by an external force applied during insertion or removal of the inlet.
The attachment member is formed with an opening part into which the inlet is fitted while the inlet is formed with a lock claw configured to prevent dropping from the opening part. The inlet is fitted into the opening part and then the lock claw is engaged with a periphery of the opening part. In this manner, the inlet is attached to the attachment member. Further, the attachment member to which the inlet is thus attached is supported by the side plate to which an electrical substrate is attached and then the inlet is connected to the electrical substrate via wires.
The inlet includes two types: one of the two types is provided with an inlet single body having an input terminal and an output terminals while the other is provided with an inlet single body having an input terminal and an output terminal to which a wire is connected. Both of the two types need to be fitted into the opening part of the attachment member. Further, there is also a case where the attachment member is supported by the side plate via an opening formed in the side plate. Hence, there are many cases where, after the attachment member to which the inlet is attached is supported by the side plate, the output terminal or the wire connected to the output terminal are connected to the electrical substrate via connectors.
Thus, in order to attach the inlet, the attachment member made of a sheet metal and the connectors are necessary. Further, an operation of attaching the inlet to the side plate requires an operation of attaching the inlet to the attachment member, an operation of attaching the attachment member to which the inlet is attached to the electrical substrate and also attaching the electrical substrate to the side plate, and an operation of electrically connecting the inlet to the electrical substrate. Furthermore, when a shield member for electrically shielding the electrical substrate is attached, an operation attaching the shield member to the side plate is added after the operation of attaching the electrical substrate to the side plate.
In recent years, as cost of the image forming apparatus becomes lower, it is demanded to reduce the number of parts which constitute the image forming apparatus and reduce assembly processes. Therefore, it is demanded to reduce the number of parts and assembly processes to attach the inlet to an apparatus main body.